Futon having hidden mattress frame and hinged mattress

ABSTRACT

A futon having a mattress frame with a seat deck and a back deck, a front edge of the seat deck being concealed from view when the mattress frame is in a seated position. The front edge of the seat deck of the mattress frame is supported by a shelf projecting rearward from a front rail of the futon. The front rail partially defines a concealed storage compartment within the futon. The futon is provided with a hinged mattress having a first portion and a second portion hingedly connected only along an elongate corner edge of each of the first and second portions.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to convertible furniture and, more particularly, to futon sofas provided with attributes of upholstered sofa beds.

BACKGROUND

Conventional futon sofas (or “futons”) offer a low-cost alternative to sofa beds, or so-called “hide-a-way” beds, and futons are more easily converted than sofa beds from a couch position, for sitting, to a bed position, for lying down. To convert a sofa bed, it is necessary to remove all cushions from the seat and backrest, and pull up and forward on a metal mattress frame. Futons are converted more easily, in part because the futon mattress serves as the cushioning when in the couch position, as well as the mattress when in the bed position.

One drawback of the futon mattress serving a dual role as the cushioning when in the couch position and the bed mattress is that the futon mattress, and cover thereof, tend to bunch up in the area of the fold when the futon is in the couch position. As a result, the mattress cover tends to develop wrinkles which detract from the appearance of the futon sofa. This and other aspects of the construction of futons, such as the visibility of the mattress frame when in the couch position, as well as the prevalence of futons in dormitory rooms, studio apartments, and efficiency apartments, have contributed to a reluctance on the part of interior designers and consumers in general to utilize futon sofas when furnishing prominent, visible rooms within larger apartments or condominiums, town houses, or homes.

Another drawback of conventional futons is a lack of concealed storage space underneath the mattress frame. Even with sofa beds, where the mattress frame is hidden from view stowed, there is little or no additional storage area under the seat cushions. It would be desirable to provide a futon sofa that overcomes these and other deficiencies in conventional futon sofas and sofa beds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially cut away, of a futon sofa of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partially cut away, of the futon sofa of FIG. 1, shown in a bed position;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a front rail of the futon sofa of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the futon sofa of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the futon sofa of FIG. 1, wherein the seat deck of the mattress frame is folded up to provide access to a storage compartment behind the front rail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the drawings, a futon sofa 10 of the present disclosure includes a mattress frame 12 having a seat deck 14 and a back deck 16 hingedly connected to one another. When in a first position, or couch position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seat deck 14 of the mattress frame 12 is in a generally horizontal position and serves as a bench, while the back deck 16 is in an inclined position and serves as a back support.

A hinged futon mattress 18 is provided on the mattress frame 12. The hinged futon mattress 18 includes a first portion 20 and a second portion 22. The first and second portions 20, 22 are joined only along an elongate corner edge of each of the first and second portions 20, 22 by a seam 24, which serves as a hinge, permitting the first and second portions 20, 22 to be folded relative one another. The first portion 20 and second portion 22 are preferably filled with a suitable foam to provide cushioning and adequate support regardless of whether the futon sofa is in a couch position, as shown in FIG. 1, or a second position, or bed position, as shown in FIG. 4. Because the first and second portions 20, 22 are connected by seam 24 along a corner edge of each of the first and second portions 20, 22, there is not a problem of the futon mattress 18 bunching up in the area of the fold. This seam 24 substantially eliminates wrinkles in the futon cover, thereby providing a futon cover which is easier to clean and more presentable in an exposed living area.

The futon sofa 10 is also more presentable than conventional futons because a front edge 26 of the seat deck 14 of the mattress frame 12 is concealed from view when the futon sofa 10 is in the couch position, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The concealment of the front edge 26 of the seat deck 14 of the mattress frame 12 is achieved by a shelf 28 extending rearwardly from a front rail 30 of the futon sofa 10. The front edge 26 is supported by the shelf 28 when the mattress frame 12 is in the first position. The shelf 28 may be made of wood or other suitable material and secured to a rear 31 of the front rail 30, which may also be made of wood or other suitable material, using nails or other suitable fasteners. The shelf 28 is subjected to loads when supporting the front edge 26, and those loads are increased when one or more people sit on the futon sofa 10. In order to reinforce the shelf 28, it is desirable to provide a plurality of support blocks 32 along the length of the shelf 28. One or more grooves or recesses may be provided in the front rail 30 to facilitate securement of the shelf 28 and/or the support blocks 32 to the front rail 30. To facilitate conversion of the mattress frame 12 from the first position to the second position, a strap 29 may be provided on the front edge 26 of the seat deck 14, which strap 29 extends prominently of a top edge of the front rail 30, and thus is exposed, when the seat deck 14 is received on the shelf 28, concealing the front edge 26 from view. A user may pull up on the strap 29 to remove the seat deck 14 from its concealed position.

The front rail 30 may be provided with mounting brackets 34 at a first end 36 and a second end 38 of the front rail 30 to facilitate mounting the front rail 30 between side members 40, 42 of the futon sofa 10. For example, the side members 40, 42 may be provided with rods or bolts 44 which are received in complementary apertures 46 provided in the mounting brackets 34 to secure the front rail 30 to the front of the futon sofa 10. The side members 40, 42 are preferably provided with arm rests 48, 50. The ease with which the front rail 30 may be mounted to, or dismounted from, the side members 40, 42 not only facilitates assembly and disassembly of the futon sofa 10, but also provides modularity to the futon sofa 10. The style of the side members 40, 42 may be selected from among a plurality of available styles (for example, side members having a plurality of different arm rest styles may be made available for selection). So long as the selected side members 40, 42 are provided with rods or bolts 44 that fit within the complementary apertures 46 of the mounting brackets 34, the front rail 30 may be used with the selected side members 40, 42. It is recognized that the bracket having the apertures 50 may instead be provided on one or both of the side members 40, 42, and the respective ends of the front rail 30 may be provided with rods or bolts 44.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the mattress frame 12 is in the first position, at least a back side of the back deck 16 of the mattress frame 12 may be covered with at least one layer of fabric 52, to provide the futon sofa 10 with an appearance of an upholstered couch. Foam or other suitable padding material 54 may be provided within the layer of fabric 52 surrounding the structural body 56 of the back deck 16 of the mattress frame, which may take the form of a plurality of elongate slats of wood or other suitable material.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the futon sofa 10 of the present disclosure provides a storage compartment 58 under the seat deck 14 of the mattress frame 12. The storage compartment 58 is at least partially defined, or bounded by, the side members 40, 42 and the rear 31 of the front rail 30. The front rail 30 extends from at or just above the floor to a height above the shelf 28, thereby concealing the storage compartment from view when the mattress frame 12 is in the couch position. Because the seat deck 14 of the mattress frame 12 rests on the shelf 28, the phantom line in FIG. 9 extending rearwardly from the shelf 28 denotes a height above which articles in the storage compartment 58 should not extend, so as not to obstruct the seat deck 14 of the mattress frame 12 from resting on the shelf 28. The storage compartment 58 provides adequate capacity for concealed storage of, for instance, pillows 60 and blankets 62.

While the futon sofa of the present disclosure has been described with respect to various preferred embodiments, it should be understood that variations may be made that are still within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the teachings of the present disclosure may be applied to a convertible chair intended for a single occupant, such that, as used herein, the terms futon, couch, sofa, bench, and seat should not be construed as limited to furniture intended for simultaneous use by two or more persons. 

1. A futon comprising: a first side member; a second side member; a mattress frame extending between the first and second side members, said mattress frame having a seat deck and a back deck hingedly connected to one another, said mattress frame being convertible between a first position wherein the seat deck is in a generally horizontal position and the back deck is in an inclined position, and a second position wherein both the seat deck and the back deck are in a generally horizontal position; a front rail extending between the first and second side members; and a shelf projecting rearwardly from a rear of the front rail, a front edge of the seat deck of the mattress frame resting on the shelf when the mattress frame is in the first position.
 2. The futon of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of support blocks under the shelf and secured to the front rail.
 3. The futon of claim 1, further comprising a mattress having a first portion and a second portion, said first and second portions being hingedly connected along an elongate corner edge of each of the first and second portions.
 4. The futon of claim 1, further comprising a storage compartment at least partially defined by the first and second side members and the rear of the front rail.
 5. The futon of claim 4, wherein the front rail extends below the shelf a sufficient distance to conceal the storage compartment from view when the mattress frame is in the first position.
 6. The futon of claim 1, wherein when the mattress frame is in the seated position, at least an exposed back side of the back deck of the mattress frame is covered in at least one layer of fabric.
 7. The futon of claim 6, wherein the back deck of the mattress frame includes a plurality of elongate slats, and wherein padding is provided between the slats and the at least one layer of fabric.
 8. The futon of claim 1, wherein the front rail is provided with a first mounting bracket at a first end thereof and a second mounting bracket at a second end thereof, said mounting brackets facilitating securement of the front rail between the first and second side members.
 9. A futon comprising: a first side member; a second side member; a mattress frame extending between the first and second side members, said mattress frame having a seat deck and a back deck hingedly connected to one another, said mattress frame being convertible between a first position wherein the seat deck is in a generally horizontal position and the back deck is in an inclined position, and a second position wherein both the seat deck and the back deck are in a generally horizontal position; and a mattress supported by the mattress frame, said mattress having a first portion and a second portion, said first and second portions being hingedly connected only along an elongate corner edge of each of the first and second portions.
 10. The futon of claim 9, further including a front rail extending between the first and second side members, said front rail having a shelf projecting rearwardly from a rear of the front rail, and wherein the seat deck of the mattress frame is supported by the shelf when the mattress frame is in the first position.
 11. The futon of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of support blocks under the shelf and secured to the front rail.
 12. The futon of claim 10, further comprising a storage compartment at least partially defined by the first and second side members and the rear of the front rail.
 14. The futon of claim 10, wherein the front rail is provided with a first mounting bracket at a first end thereof and a second mounting bracket at a second end thereof, said mounting brackets facilitating securement of the front rail between the first and second side members.
 15. The futon of claim 9, wherein when the mattress frame is in the seated position, at least an exposed back side of the back deck of the mattress frame is covered in at least one layer of fabric.
 16. The futon of claim 15, wherein the back deck of the mattress frame includes a plurality of elongate slats, and wherein padding is provided between the slats and the at least one layer of fabric. 